The present invention relates to an identity preserved (“IP”) container. In particular, to an IP container with a frame supporting an enclosure with a liner forming a bin terminating in a centrally located belly door.
Recent advances in biotechnology have revolutionized the agricultural industry, and in particular grain production. The proliferation of a wide variety of bio-engineered and genetically modified crops and food products provides unprecedented opportunity for farmers to achieve larger profit margins though production of niche products, especially compared to the economics of traditional grain products. Realization of the profits associated with these specialty grains, however, requires identify preservation of the grain throughout the distribution chain. In other words, from the farm to the factory the specialty or IP grain cannot co-mingle with other grains if the farmer expects the end users to pay a premium for the product.
In addition, with regard to genetically modified organisms (“GMO”) certain jurisdictions ban the importation of GMO crops, or limit the use of the crops in a manner that requires segregation of GMO grains from other grains.
As the technology of bio-engineering continues to evolve grain products the trend toward specialty grains will continue to grow, which will continue to transform what once was a fungible commodity into a product that requires special handling and segregation.
The traditional distribution methods applied to grains simply do not accommodate IP grains. At nearly every step of the established process grain is co-mingled. For example, during harvest, wagons or trucks offload the grain from the harvester for transportation to a local community grain elevator. In many cases, the wagons or trucks may contain grain from other sources, and almost certainly contain grain dust or pollen from other sources. Furthermore, the elevators handle large quantities of grain from over a fairly large region. Next, the elevator typically dispenses the grain to a larger truck or railcar for further transportation. For overseas transportation the grain is loaded into very large cargo holds of ships with grain from throughout the country. At each of these steps, substantial co-mingling takes place in a manner that makes IP movement completely impossible.
Containerization comprises one transportation option that that has greatly reduced the time and costs of shipping products over great distances, but heretofore has not been adopted for transportation of grains. Until the mid-1960s, cargo traveling by truck, rail, and ship traveled in essentially a haphazard and random manner. The lack of standardization made shipping cargo expensive and labor intensive. The introduction of standardized shipping containers, facilitated by the development of pallets and modem fork lifts, made it possible to greatly decrease the time and costs involved in shipping all types of cargo, including small items and delicate cargo. The development of intermodal containers made it possible to use one standard sized container to ship cargo by rail, truck, and by ship. The containers are large and can thus carry large amounts of cargo, they can be stacked, and can be moved from one transportation type to another without the need for disturbing the underlying cargo. In addition, the containers can be sealed to protect the cargo from contamination, and from other associated hazards. Thus, the proliferation of standardized containers has dramatically improved the art of cargo transportation.
Traditional standardized containers, however, are not particularly well suited for the transportation of grains, and transportation of IP grains in particular. Typically, the containers are side or end loaded and due to the fact that grain by its nature is a flowable material, this makes loading difficult. Furthermore, unloading grain is also difficult. The container must be tipped so that the grain can flow out of the side or end doors, and even this will not remove all of the grain and/or pollen from the container. Thus, shipment of IP grains in conventional standardized containers would require cleaning and decontamination of the containers before each reuse.
Accordingly, a need exists for a convenient transportation device that preserves the identity of the product or substance transported.